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Jennifer Senior's Article Some Dark Thoughts On Happiness

1476 Words6 Pages

“Anyone who could maintain a state of happiness, given the state of the world, is living in a delusion (Phillips 430).” This statement from Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness addresses multiple issues regarding happiness, society, as well as international awareness. The article also touches on the relation of happiness to optimism and pessimism. The following paragraphs will build an argument against the the above statement in Jennifer Senior’s article. Arguments such as what delusion is, how where a person lives plays an affect on happiness, and what percent genetics play in happiness and that people have the option to choose to be happy. Delusion is a false idea or a belief that is caused by a mental illness (Merriam-Webster). The author’s statement implies happiness is only attained by those suffering from a delusional disorder. Genetics not only play a large role in the inheritance of delusional disorders, but as well as in the inheritance of happiness. “Literature based on twin studies seems to suggest that roughly 50 percent of our affect is determined by genetics” (Senior 428). This means that an individual has a control over the remaining 50 percent of the happiness they experience. Where a person …show more content…

This could be for a variety of reasons. First, most younger individuals have little influence in their own lives. Take children, they have little if any control in their situation. Their guardians dictate where a child’s life points for the first 18 years of their life. After those 18 years many adults have a tough time figuring out who they really are and what things make them happy without other people telling them what does. While older individuals can be considered more independent, and are capable of pursuing areas of happiness throughout their

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